[BHS Etree] BUSD: New Developer Fees (School Facility Fee) for BUSD

[BHS Etree]

PLEASE do not reply to this email, contact BUSD Facilities at
developerfees at berkeley.net.



*BUSD Implements Developer Fees (School Facility Fee)*



Effective June 8, 2017, many new developments in Berkeley will be assessed
one-time Developer Fees, known also as a School Facility Fee, by the
Berkeley Unified School District. The fees will be $3.48 per square foot
for residential development of more than 500 square feet and $0.56 per
square foot for new commercial and industrial development.



The District has prepared the following documents with more information
about the fees:

• BUSD School Facility Fee Notice
<http://www.berkeleyschools.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/BUSD-School-Facility-Fee-Notice-5-16-17.pdf>
• BUSD Developer Fees FAQs
<http://www.berkeleyschools.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/BUSD-Developer-Fees-FAQs-6-1-17.pdf>
• BUSD Developer Fees Flowchart
<http://www.berkeleyschools.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/BUSD-Developer-Fees-Flowchart-6-6-17.pdf>



For questions or additional information, call BUSD Facilities at
510-644-6066 <%28510%29%20644-6066> or send an email to
developerfees at berkeley.net.



*Background and rationale for the fees:*

California state law authorizes local school districts to adopt one-time
fees for new housing and commercial developments. The fees are designed to
help school districts meet the costs of expanding their facilities to
accommodate increased enrollment caused by new development.



Such fees have been widely adopted by districts in California, including
many of Berkeley’s neighboring districts such as Oakland, Alameda, West
Contra Costa County, San Francisco and Hayward. Berkeley Unified School
District, however, has been enduring an extra financial burden caused by
not having such fees and thus not receiving the revenue that State law
authorizes for development-caused enrollment growth.



Accordingly, the BUSD Board of Education took up the issue of developer
fees in Oct. 2015, as reported at the time by Berkeleyside. The Board voted
unanimously on Oct. 28, 2015 to proceed with an independent study
<http://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting/Attachments/DisplayAttachment.aspx?AttachmentID=499211&IsArchive=0>
of
the impact of new development on enrollment in Berkeley and the
corresponding amount of fees that would be justified. The study, completed
in Sept. 2016 and described in a presentation at the Board’s Dec. 7, 2016
meeting, found that BUSD would be justified in collecting the legal maximum
of $3.48 per square foot for residential development of more than 500
square feet and $0.56 per square foot for new commercial and industrial
development.



On Feb. 8, 2017, the Board of Education held a public hearing on the fees
and subsequently voted unanimously to adopt them.



_____________________________

Marguerite Fa-Kaji, Catherine Ference and Dylan Kaufman are the
parent-volunteer facilitators of the Etree; please direct any questions
about the Etree to them at bhs-owner at lmi.net.



BHS etree archives: http://lists.lmi.net/pipermail/bhs/

BHS website: http://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/

BUSD Non-Discrimination Statement / la Política de No Discriminación:
http://bit.ly/BUSDNDPolicy



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